Lucy: The Gamer Files
by Round Box
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia may have thought that her life as a rich heiress was dull and boring but she never asked for it to become a video game. Nevertheless, things will be a whole lot more interesting when she joins Fairy Tail. Inspired by MaxFic's Naruto: The Gamer Files. Fairy Tail/The Gamer crossover.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or The Gamer.

So, I read MaxFic's Naruto: The Gamer Files and was really inspired by that and thought, hey why not create my own Gamer Files with Lucy and Fairy Tail instead? Well I asked for permission and they said yes, so here I am. The concept's based off MaxFic's fanfic.

* * *

PROLOGUE

 **Heartfilia Heiress**

 **Lvl 3 Lucy Heartfilia – The Gamer**

Brown eyes that were framed by pale and flawlessly smooth skin barely blinked at the words reflected in the mirror. A slight twitch of her mouth was the only signal that she had noticed the uncanny string of letters floating above her head as the servants hastened to fit the blue gown onto her petite frame.

"You are ready, Miss Heartfilia. Now please come down to have breakfast." The head maid announced primly, standing stiffly as she waited for the heiress.

Lucy nodded once, eyes dragging away from her reflection, following Mrs Curtis down the halls.

 **Head Maid**

 **Lvl 2 Sarah Curtis**

It was about a week ago that these words popped up from out of nowhere. No one else could see it except for the young Heartfilia heiress, much to her confusion. At first she had suspected that she was under some sort of illusion spell, and a dangerous mage was out to kidnap her or something like that. Though after continuously observing the mysterious magic she was fairly certain this was not the case. Because in the past few days, she carefully watched the magic and apart from seeing floating words, it...

... Did absolutely nothing.

No villainous mage with an evil cackle came to kidnap her. No signs that a mad scientist with questionable morals was experimenting on her as a test subject. Nothing.

Which led to Lucy's next theory, that these words were actually conjured from her magic. That, or she was hallucinating. She favoured the former theory a tad more (Lucy had actually spent three whole hours locked in her room panicking over the fact that she was possibly going insane before Mrs Curtis used the spare key and opened the bedroom door).

The magic seemed harmless, so while she would still be cautious of it, there was no need to panic over it.

In concluding that this strange magic was not dangerous at this point in time, Lucy was able to mull over the finer details of the issue. All the people she had seen so far had 'Heartfilia Maid' or something along those lines on top of their name, while she was the only one with the phrase, 'The Gamer'.

Those words joggled an old memory shoved in the corner of her mind of Mrs Spetto, Aed and the other Heartfilia Konzern workers getting Lucy a Gaming Lacrima Console on one of her birthdays when she was a child. She had loved the gift, and the reprieve it gave her from the oppressive, suffocating atmosphere of the mansion had saved her from being driven over the edge.

Not that she was exactly great at the games (she spent most of the time dying from slimes which were apparently the weakest monsters around but it's not like it was her fault the controls were so confusing) but it had been a wonderful experience while it lasted.

 _"WHAT IS THIS?!" A deep voice boomed._

 _The silhouette of the man was shaking, the rage visibly seeping out from him as he stared down at the girl. She didn't remember him ever being this angry. She was starting to get a little scared, the way he loomed over her and glared at her with utter contempt. The towering figure reached out, fingers stretching towards the device the little blonde girl clutched desperately to her chest. The hand wrapped around the device and with a decisive tug ripped the device out of the girl's tiny, frail arms._

 _She cried out in surprise as she watched the figure raise the device up, high up, above his head, and with one swift movement brought it crashing down onto the wooden floor with a sickening crack._

 _"NO! Please stop! Mrs Spetto and the others gave that to me and it must have cost them a fortu-"_

 _SLAP._

"Is the food to your liking, Miss Heartfilia?" the monotone voice of the butler interrupted her thoughts. Lucy set down the silver fork, the clatter echoing throughout the hollow room, and lifted the corners of her mouth into a polite smile.

 **Butler**

 **Lvl 3 Robert Gilman**

"Lovely as always, Mr Gilman."

He nodded indifferently at the satisfactory answer, bored gaze already shifting to focus on the clock.

The dining hall was exquisitely decorated, like the rest of the mansion. Fine silver cutlery was placed precisely on top of the red satin table cloth. All sixteen chairs surrounding the table had intricate patterns carefully etched into the fine oak wood by the best wood carvers.

'Heh. Why have sixteen seats when there's ever only one person sitting at the table at a time?' Lucy grimaced slightly at the thought.

"Your tutor has just arrived, Miss Heartfilia. Your father wishes to remind you that there is no need to report to him on Saturdays for the next four weeks as he is going on a business trip." Mrs Curtis spoke up as Lucy got up from her seat.

The young heiress nodded in acknowledgement of the head maid's words, turning silently towards the dining hall's exit. She'd have to try figure out this Gamer business later.

For now, she'd just go through yet another tedious day.

* * *

The Heartfilia Konzern, being the great mansion built on decades of wealth that it was, had a vast library like every other wealthy family in the kingdom of Fiore had. This library contained books of all kinds of subjects, from statistics and information about trading ports, to great works of literature and historical interpretations on ancient civilisations existing thousands of years before now.

And amidst these rows upon rows of books stood an elderly man, the one who cared for and tended to these books, day by day. His name was –

"Bero!" A voice cried out as the doors to the library slammed open.

Bero turned around to see none other than the Heartfilia heiress flopping onto one of the wooden chairs, legs pulled up to her chest and chin resting on her knees. He couldn't help but smile gently at the sight.

"Hello, Miss Lucy. How have you been today?"

Lucy lifted her head to face him and rolled her eyes, subconsciously registering the information above him.

 **Librarian**

 **Lvl 14 Bero Sturgin**

"Oh I don't know old man, what do you think? I've had a _wonderful_ day learning about how women should be _submissive_ and _obedient_ to their dear future husbands whilst memorising all the prominent wealthy families' relationships and alliances with one another." Lucy muttered sarcastically.

Bero frowned, "Now Miss Lucy, there's no need to speak to me like that."

The blonde sighed and looked down, a sliver of guilt invading her mind. "I know, Bero, I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't be so mean to the only person that I can actually talk to. It's just... ugh." She groaned.

The wizened librarian's eyes softened at the sight of the dejected girl.

"I know this is hard for you, Miss Lucy. Being the heiress to such a prominent family is bound to put a great amount of pressure on you. But different people have different ways of showing their love. It may not seem it, but I am sure deep down your father cares a lot about y–"

Lucy scoffed, "Please, Bero. Save your lies for someone else. Who are you kidding? We both know that my father holds absolutely no love for me. And the feeling's mutual. I hate this place, Bero. I _hate_ it here. Someday, I'm going to leave, get out of here."

Lucy knew that to an outsider, she would just seem like a typical moody teenager in one of their self-pitying, angst-ridden moments, but she wasn't joking.

She knew that her father despised her.

He despised the way she was a carbon copy of his late wife, Layla Heartfilia, reminding him of all he had lost. He despised the way she defied his orders and refused to be another pawn on his empty goal to gain money, riches and wealth. He despised the way she held onto her dreams of becoming a celestial mage like her mother...

And Lucy hated Jude too. For all the things he did to her, and more importantly, the things he didn't do for her.

 _"Y-you see, daddy, I made a rice ball f-for you... and I wanted you to have it, because today... today was my birthday..."_

 _... and for once, just for once I wanted you to pay attention to me. To be proud of me. To show that you cared, even a little, for me._

Lucy shook her head, dismissing those thoughts. 'No use dwelling on the past. I should only focus on the present. Speaking of which...'

Lucy looked up at Bero again. "Hey, Bero..." she hesitated, unsure if she should tell Bero about the Gamer issue before steeling herself (because Heartfilia's must never be indecisive), "I... have a question for you. It's related to magic."

Lucy had barely finished her sentence and she could see Bero noticeably stiffen. His back straightened and shoulders visibly tensed.

"M-miss Lucy... you know your father disapproves of such things." Bero replied carefully, his gaze averting away from Lucy.

"I know... but we could keep this conversation a secret. You're the only person I know who's even vaguely knowledgeable on this subject. Please... this is important to me." Lucy pleaded.

The elderly librarian sighed. He glanced at the pitiful expression the heiress was giving him, noticing the way her eyes glistened in hope that he would agree to her request. And how could he not? He never could say no to the girl he saw as his granddaughter after all.

"Alright Miss Lucy," Bero sighed, shaking his head, "I hope for the sake of the both of us that your father doesn't hear about this. What is it you want to ask?"

Lucy gave him a genuine smile, "So if you were to, hypothetically speaking, wake up one day and suddenly see things that were not there before... what kind of magic would you say you were dealing with?"

"What kind of things are you talking about here, Miss Lucy? You'll have to be more specific than that," Bero paused, before continuing, "Although... to suddenly see things... I would have to say illusion magic is your best bet."

Lucy nodded in agreement – she had been expecting that answer. She stood up to pace around the rows of bookshelves, trying to find the best way to describe her strange experience.

"Say it wasn't illusion magic. The things you see are more like... information, about other people. Like what job they have or how strong they are, I guess." She mused.

Bero frowned, eyebrows furrowing together in concentration, "Well maybe you're thinking of archive magic? It allows you to store information as magical data, so you can access previously stored data whenever you want."

Lucy pursed her lips, "No, I don't think that's it. The information is conveyed in a... game format... like those role-playing games where you have a character that needs to level up..." she said contemplatively.

Bero froze. "Miss Lucy, what are you on about? Are you talking about gaming lacrima consoles? You know you –"

"That's not it," Lucy interrupted, "It's... um... how do I explain this..."

Bero opened his mouth to respond, before hearing a knock. The pair turned to the direction of the sudden sound as the distinct voice of the head maid echoed through the doors.

"Miss Heartfilia, there you are. Please come take a bath while we prepare dinner for you."

Lucy composed herself quickly before replying, "Yes. I'll be there shortly."

The blonde haired girl gave one last look at Bero, nodding curtly to signify that they hadn't finished their discussion before following Mrs Curtis out the door.

Bero watched with a growing heaviness in his heart as the girl left. He noted the way her face smoothed into a blank, indecipherable mask and she unconsciously straightened her back, folding her hands together to rest on the front of her dress.

While his dear friend shifted her posture to one more befitting of an heiress, he couldn't help but wonder...

'What have you gotten yourself into now, my child?'

* * *

 **You have slept in your bed. HP and MP are fully restored.**

The blue window appeared in front of Lucy as she groggily opened her eyes. With a great deal of effort she reached out and roughly jabbed at the box, still half asleep. The box disappeared with a pop.

It had been a week since she had last seen Bero, and in that time she had learnt a few things relating to this 'Gamer' issue. She'd earned a new 'skill' called Observe. How? She had no idea. She was just doing her own thing, looking around the Heartfilia Konzern, giving polite smiles to all the servants passing by when she was alerted to a popping sound.

 **A skill has been created through a special act.**

As Lucy waved away the first notification, another one had appeared to replace it:

 **Through continuous observation, a skill to find the target's information, 'Observe', has been created.**

"What...? A skill to find the target's information? [Observe]? What does that even mea– " As Lucy pondered on this new development, her thoughts were interrupted by several new pops resounding in the corridor.

 **Heartfilia Maid**

 **Lvl 2 Maggie Turtis**

 **HP: 125 MP: 20**

 **Heartfilia Maid**

 **Lvl 3 Samantha Aurelia**

 **HP: 150 MP: 15**

"Whoa..." Lucy murmured, eyes scanning the new data provided, "HP? MP? This really _is_ like a game..."

And thus, just like that, Lucy had gained a new 'skill'. The other time she had learnt something else about the 'Gamer' magic was, ironically, in the middle of one of those stupid tutoring sessions she had so despised.

"[Observe]." Lucy whispered.

 **Etiquette Tutor**

 **Lvl 2 Vanessa Rose**

 **HP: 120 MP: 5**

Mrs Rose was a prim, proper lady (like most of the women who ever set foot in the Heartfilia Konzern), and Lucy... disliked... her. The old woman loved to give her condescending looks and was almost as snobbish as her father.

"Now," Mrs Rose said, sending Lucy one of her fabled patronising smiles, "Miss Heartfilia, you have no doubt learned much from my lessons over these past few years."

Lucy suppressed a snort, if she was given a jewel for every 'important' lesson of walking in a straight line and bowing at different angles to certain people depending on their social status she learnt, she'd be richer than her tycoon of a father.

"So, our etiquette lessons are finally coming to an end," The woman continued, "And next week we'll be starting on ball dancing lessons. However, first you must pass the etiquette exam that I have generously created for you."

 **Quest Alert**

 **Pass Mrs Rose's etiquette exam.**

 **Completion Award:  
50 Exp  
Increased closeness with Mrs Rose  
Dance lessons**

 **Completion Failure:  
Decreased reputation with Mrs Rose  
Remedial etiquette lessons **

**Yes – No**

Lucy blinked a couple of times before tapping the yes button while Mrs Rose wasn't looking. She could guess what quests were well enough – the little experience she'd gained from playing a bit of games had at least taught her that. She blanched slightly at the 'increased closeness with Mrs Rose' but frowned thoughtfully at the mention of 'Exp'.

'Exp' generally was an acronym for 'experience' in games, and once the player gained enough experience they would level up. The problem was that the blonde heiress had no clue just how much 50 Exp was in the grand scheme of things and how much experience she needed to get to the next level. In fact, she didn't have any information on the basic stats like strength and dexterity that game players usually had... assuming that these stats existed at all.

 _'I need to figure out how to see my stats...'_ Lucy idly thought as she went through the motions in the simulation exam Mrs Rose had created for her. She curtsied to the old lady, who was acting as an esteemed guest, making sure to show her to the 'exit' once the 'party' had finished.

 **Quest Completed**

 **Congratulations, you passed the exam with flying colours.**

Lucy tapped away the alert window as Mrs Rose began speaking again. She nodded vaguely as the woman rambled on about how great a teacher she must have been for Lucy to have done so well.

It was yet another tedious day.

... But admittedly, it wasn't without its own rewards.

So it was with these new revelations that Lucy hurried down (but not that hurried, because a lady _always_ walks elegantly) towards the Heartfilia Konzern's only library. She finally had free time today and she had yet to explain her Gamer predicament to Bero.

* * *

Bero had been tending to the books when the doors to the library burst open and his favourite young lady flopped unceremoniously onto what he liked to call Lucy's chair. She leaned into the back, lifting the front two legs of the chair slightly.

"Bero," Lucy whined, extending the 'o' in Bero's name, "Mrs Rose is so annoying. She's the most annoying lady I've ever had the displeasure of meeting, with her condescending, annoying looks and annoying voice. And have I mentioned that she's annoying?"

Bero chuckled, having heard the young girl's complaints of the various tutors and other Heartfilia employees countless times.

"Indeed Miss Lucy, I believe you have told me on various occasions that Mrs Rose was... ahem... slightly irritating at times." Bero smiled in amusement as Lucy groaned in frustration.

"That's an understatement of the century, Bero." Lucy scoffed, before shaking her head slightly.

"But I didn't come here to complain about sycophantic idiots who kiss up to Jude Heartfilia." She continued.

Bero smirked, "Wow Miss Lucy, that's a first. I'm very surprised."

Lucy scowled, restraining the very childish urge to stick her tongue out at him. She may be fifteen now, a teenager, but Bero really brought out the worst... or arguably the best in her, making her feel like the child she hadn't been allowed to be since her mother had died.

"Careful Bero, or else you'll wake up tomorrow and find that a mysterious person's used your toothbrush to clean the toilet or something." She mock threatened, inciting a hearty laugh from the wizened librarian.

"That's a scary thought indeed. So what did you want then, Miss Lucy?"

Lucy paused, sitting up properly in her chair.

"Do you have any time right now Bero?" Lucy waited until the man gave an affirmative nod before continuing, "I'd like to continue the conversation we had last week. Related to magic, I mean."

Bero sighed, before nodding again. Lucy was a stubborn girl, he knew, and when they had been interrupted last week he had had a feeling that it would not be the last he'd heard of the topic.

"Yes, I had guessed as much. What is it you wished to ask?"

And so Lucy explained everything she had observed of her Gamer abilities in the past fortnight, while Bero listened intently to her descriptions of everything that had happened.

"What do you see when you use your [Observe] skill on me?" Bero asked the blonde heiress.

"So you believe me?" Lucy questioned hesitantly.

Bero was the person she trusted the most in the world, but Lucy couldn't help the slightly inkling of doubt seeping into her mind that her old friend and one she regarded as her grandfather wouldn't believe such a farfetched story.

Bero smiled reassuringly at the young girl, "Magic works in strange ways, my dear. I haven't heard of any kind of magic you've described before but... yes, I believe you."

Bero loved the genuine, heart warming grin that Lucy gave him. Involuntarily, the corners of his own lips twitched up to mirror hers.

"[Observe]." Lucy called out, hearing the familiar pop while information filled out on top of Bero's head.

 **Librarian**

 **Lvl 14 Bero Sturgin**

 **HP: 240 MP: 390**

 **[Observe]'s level has risen by one.**

"What?" Lucy said confusedly.

That had never happened before.

"What is it?" Bero asked.

Although he did believe in Lucy's story, it was still slightly disconcerting to watch Heartfilia heiress seemingly stare into space and tap and nothing.

"It says my [Observe] skill levelled up... that's never happened before." Lucy narrowed her eyes.

Bero hummed in response. "Perhaps your skills can get better by levelling up? Try using [Observe] on me again, Miss Lucy. See if anything's changed."

Lucy nodded, before activating her skill yet again.

 **Librarian**

 **Lvl 14 Bero Sturgin**

 **HP: 240 MP: 390**

 **The librarian of the Heartfilia Konzern. As a retired mage and tutor, he is very knowledgeable on the subject of magic.**

Lucy described what she saw to Bero. The wizened hobbled over to a chair and sat, leaning his walking stick on one of the shelves.

"Miss Lucy... you're such a trouble magnet aren't you," Bero sighed, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands, "You're situation is very unique, you must not tell anyone about your Gamer abilities."

Lucy snorted, "Bero, honestly, who am I going to tell in this hell hole? My father?"

Bero snapped his eyes open to glare at the girl.

"Lucy, I'm serious about this. I don't want you telling _anyone_ about this, understand?" He demanded, raising his voice to impress the seriousness of the situation.

Lucy sat up a little straighter in her chair, staring at the old man. It was a rarity to see Bero this grim, and even in then he had never been so stern to the young girl.

"Is my magic really that dangerous?" She asked quietly.

"Well, it's not your Gamer abilities alone that makes it dangerous, Miss Lucy." Bero sighed, noticing Lucy's confused expression.

"You know there are two different types of magic, caster and holder. In this world approximately ten percent of people are born with magic. It's an innate ability. Well it's the same story for the type of magic you have. Some people are born with the potential to become a caster type magic, while others are born with the potential to be a holder type magic.

"Haven't you ever wondered why people don't learn both types of magic? Because the mage is born with the potential for only _one_ of the two types of magic, it's impossible to switch to the other. Sure, you could learn different branches of one type of magic, for example for a caster mage to learn fire magic and then water magic, but even then it's extremely hard to do.

"This is because while you are born with the potential for all the different branches of magic, as you start learning one specific type then your magic moulds itself to suit the branch of magic you have chosen. Essentially, the better a mage you are the harder it is to learn new branches. You'd have to start very young or be very determined to learn different branches of magic."

Lucy nodded, frowning as she slowly started putting together the pieces.

"But I'm an anomaly... because I seem to have naturally developed a caster type magic, my Gamer magic, even though I already have my celestial magic, a holder type magic." Lucy said slowly.

"Yes. You are an unknown, Miss Lucy, born with the potential for not one type of magic, but both of them." Bero agreed.

Lucy felt a growing headache from this increasingly complicated situation. Really, why her. She had a magic-hating father for god's sake, she had enough issues to deal with without finding out she was considered different, weird, even to mages.

"So?" Lucy asked tiredly, suddenly wishing she was sound asleep in her soft, warm bed instead of having this conversation, "Remind me why this is such a serious situation again?"

"Think, Miss Lucy. You now have the best of both worlds, as they say. Holder type magic is a lot more flexible than caster type, and their mages have diverse powers, often it is easier for holder types to learn different branches of holder magic than casters. On the other hand, the caster mage's advantage is that their magic is a lot more powerful and concentrated," Bero explained, "You're in a position to take advantage of both types of magic. You have power, Miss Lucy. And what do people love more than gaining power?"

The old librarian's words sobered Lucy immediately.

"People want power, huh? Yeah, I can imagine that." She muttered.

"Exactly. And they'll do anything to get that power. And if they can't get that power, well they'll try to control it instead. Both of those paths don't bode well for you, Miss Lucy." Bero stated calmly.

Lucy sighed.

Greed. Fear. Hate. These emotions were what made people human.

But it was so easy for these emotions to grow stronger and stronger, louder and louder, out of control. For them to grow so much that they overtook you.

And suddenly, you weren't the one in control. You were the controlled.

"I know Bero. I won't tell anyone, I promise." Lucy decided.

And Lucy had meant it, when she said it.

But she had no idea how hard it would be to keep that promise in two years time, when she meets a certain pink haired pyro and blue talking cat.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or The Gamer.**

 **Author's Note:**

 **So I'm back with another chapter. Originally, this chapter had meant to end with Lucy leaving the Heartfilia mansion but the chapter was getting very long, so I decided to cut it into two sections. For readers who are waiting for the appearance of more Fairy Tail characters, don't worry. It will come very soon.**

 **That being said, I'll be going on holidays for a week after this and so the next update may be a little slower. I'll try update within a week but it might take a little longer.**

 **Well I've done my share of talking, now please read and enjoy.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1**

" _Mummy?" A young girl, no older than eight or so, shuffled into the room cautiously._

 _A man was seated next to the bed. He turned his attention towards the newcomer._

 _"_ _Go back to your room, princess. Your mummy just needs a little bit of rest." He called out._

 _"_ _B-but... I want to help..." the girl hesitated._

 _A woman who had been lying on the bed shakily sat up to face the girl, before falling into a violent coughing fit. The wet coughs resonated through the room as the man rubbed the woman's back. Slowly, the harsh noises subsided._

 _"_ _Go on, Lucy. Mummy will be better in the morning. You know I love seeing you healthy and beautiful, and you can only do that if you get a good night's sleep." She croaked._

 _The girl nodded slowly, before giving the woman a big smile._

 _"_ _Right! I'll be the first face you'll see tomorrow, okay? I'll make breakfast! Mrs Spetto will teach me how to make rice balls and we can all eat them together!"_

 _The woman chuckled slightly before making a slight choking sound, which soon turned into a coughing fit. The girl's smile wavered a little, but obediently left the room._

 _Lucy closed the door slightly as she left, leaving a little gap. She didn't move._

 _"_ _Jude... please? Sing for me." Her mother's voice was muffled. She crept closer to the crack in the door._

 _Father hesitated for a moment. The room was silent bar the wheezing breathes of the woman. Slowly, as if she might break if he was any less gentle, he cradled the woman closer to him, humming a gentle song._ _[1]_

 _The girl sat against the wall, listening to her father hum. She pulled her knees up close to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She had a feeling that this would be the last time she would hear him sing. Slowly, as the song came to an end..._

 _"_ _Layla?"_

 _No response._

 _"_ _L-layla, honey?"_

 _Nobody replied._

 _"_ _P-please, don't do this to me."_

 _Silence._

 _"_ _L-layla. Layla. Layla." Her father was repeating the name over and over again._

 _The girl watched blankly as a drop of water splattered onto her arm. She shakily lifted her hand to wipe away the tear._

 _Slowly, as the song came to an end... Layla Heartfilia's life came to an end too.  
_

* * *

Beams of moonlight filtered through the small gaps between the curtains, hitting the wooden floor at random angles. The moon had just begun its inevitable descent, hopelessly clinging to the night sky as time dragged it, inch by inch, towards the horizon. It was this time of the night which could be called true peace, with everything utterly silent –

"Menu. Profile. File. Settings... ugh, I don't know, main menu?" Lucy grumbled.

And like that, the tranquil atmosphere of the night was shattered.

Lucy had gone to dinner after her rather enlightening conversation with Beno, thoroughly ready to just forget about the whole Gamer business and pretend it didn't exist... for at least the next few days. The whole issue was way too complicated and she just wanted to escape it for a while.

Her resolve did last rather solidly throughout the whole evening, with Lucy happily continuing to ignore the fact that she saw random floating words on top of people's heads. The plan was going along beautifully.

Until bed time.

Because Lucy couldn't fall asleep.

It was ridiculous.

Her mind had, for some reason, decided that lying down in bed and closing her eyes was a signal for it to start working in overdrive. The conversation she had with dear old Bero repeated over and over as she considered the implications of her new magic.

And thus, Lucy came to the conclusion that since she couldn't sleep anyway she might as well do something productive. Like figuring out how to see her stats.

Which was currently going fantastically.

"Player page. Gamer file... Pause?" Lucy continued her mantra, "Options, load, system, attributes, I'm out of synonyms for god's sake why is it so hard I just want to see my [Status] and –"

 _Pop!_

Lucy wanted to scream or cry or maybe kill something... but it was in the middle of the night so she opted for a more logical option instead. She took a deep breath, tried not to have murderous thoughts towards her own magic, and read her stats.

 **Name:** Lucy Heartfilia

 **Class:** The Gamer

 **Title:** None

 **Level:** 3

 **Affiliation:** Heartfilia family

 **HP:** 150/150

 **MP:** 240/240

 **STR:** 5

 **VIT:** 5

 **DEX:** 9

 **INT:** 14

 **WIS:** 7

 **LUK:** 3

 **SPD:** 6

 **CHA:** 9

 **Status:** Heartfilia Heiress (+1 CHA & +1 INT per Lvl, +50% experience gain to the [?] Skills), Celestial Mage (+1 INT & +1 WIS per Lvl)

 **Lucy Heartfilia is the only child of Jude and Layla Heartfilia and heiress to the Heartfilia estates. She strives to become a strong celestial mage like her late mother.**

 **Point:** 0

 **Jewels:** 0

She frowned when she read the status, eyes skimming over the [?] skill.

"That's weird... I'm guessing I don't have that skill yet or something? Well I can't really do anything about it for now..." Lucy mumbled to herself, "Okay, but what's **CHA**?"

She pressed the question mark next to the stat, waiting for the blue window to pop up.

 **CHA:** Charisma affects how much you stand out and how willing other people are to listen and agree with your suggestions.

Nodding in understanding, Lucy waved away the notification. She could guess what the other stats stood for: strength, vitality, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, luck and speed.

"Okay... so what exactly does a charisma of nine _mean_? In terms of the average person?" she mused.

As if answering her question, a new alert window popped up.

 **You have a charisma of less than ten. In other words, a pebble on the floor has more charm than you.**

Lucy's eye twitched slightly as she read over the words. Did it just...

"Did my own _magic_ just _mock_ me?!" She said incredulously.

It was two in the morning and Lucy was tired, she did _not_ want or need to deal with her apparently sentient and very sassy magic right now.

In fact, her eyes were starting to droop... she could figure it out later...

... yes... later... sounded...

... good...

... **You have slept in your bed. HP and MP are fully restored.**

"Miss Lucy please wake up at once! Your lessons begin in half an hour!" The nasally voice of Mrs Curtis cut through Lucy's sleep addled mind. With a jolt, she tumbled out of bed, shrieking in surprise.

Well, that was a wonderful start to the day.

* * *

Lucy couldn't help but gape at the blue alert window floating innocently in front of her.

 **Diligent studying causes your INT to go up by 1.**

Really? _Studying_ let her intelligence go up?

... Well, when put like that it made an awful lot of sense... but really? She was fairly certain the games she had played didn't work like that. Didn't stats only go up when the person levelled up?

Well, she wasn't going to question it.

"Miss Heartfilia, I believe you have become very good in your business studies. Throughout the next few days I want you to read this book. It will help you quite a lot." Lucy's tutor handed her a book.

 **You've obtained the skill book [How to Read Body Language].**

 **Would you like to learn the skill?**

 **Yes – No**

Lucy blinked a couple of times. What skill?

"As a woman who would no doubt be married to a prominent businessman in the future it would be beneficial for you to be able to read other's people's basic thoughts based on their body movements and gestures," The tutor continued, "So I expect you to finish that by the time I see you again."

Lucy nodded absentmindedly as her fingers grasped over the skill book, waiting for him to leave before pressing **yes**.

She gasped in shock as the book went up in flames. Suddenly, she was very glad she waited until her teacher was gone before she did that. She had a feeling that he wouldn't have appreciated the book he just gave her spontaneously combusting in her hands very much.

 **You have obtained the skill [Beginners Manipulation].**

Lucy barely had time to close the notification window before two new ones popped up.

 **[Beginners Manipulation (Passive/Active) Lvl 1 Exp: 0.00%]**

Influence others using nothing but your sharp wit.

Passively increases WIS by 0.2%

When active, an additional 10% to CHA.

"Wow, of all skills I could possibly learn... I get something to manipulate people with." Lucy scrunched up her nose in distaste. She shook her head before looking at the other window.

 **Congratulations, you have discovered a previously unknown element in your status page. Say "Status" to view your profile.**

For the second time in the day Lucy felt like strangling her magic. It tells her how to view her status _now_ , _after_ she figured it out herself?!

Someone up there must be laughing at her.

"[Status]." She snapped.

Lucy skimmed the page, looking for the thing she had apparently discovered.

 **Status:** Heartfilia Heiress (+1 CHA & +1 INT per Lvl, +50% experience gain to **[Manipulation]** Skills), Celestial Mage (+1 INT  & +1 WIS per Lvl)

Wow. That made her feel so good about herself. So she was naturally good at _manipulating_ people.

The blonde really didn't want to deal with this right now. Or preferably ever. Well, if she was going to have to do this then she'd do her best to drag someone down with her.

Somewhere deep in the Heartfilia library, Bero felt a shiver go down his back. Why did it feel like he just got cursed?

Nah, it must've been a draft of cold wind.

"Bero!" a distinct voice called out.

Or maybe not.

* * *

"So I found a few books in this old library that could possibly be 'skill books'." The croaky voice of Bero resonated through the large library.

Lucy peered at the books of a disparity of sizes and shapes strewn haphazardly on the table. She picked up one of them, titled 'The Anatomy', as she waited for Bero. Distantly, she could hear the shuffling of the old man's footsteps.

 **You've obtained the skill book [The Anatomy].**

 **Would you like to learn the skill?**

 **Yes – No**

Lucy tapped the confirm button, curious as to see what new skill she'd be learning.

 **You cannot learn this skill.**

 **Required INT: 30**

Lucy sighed before looking back to the pile. She turned around to see if Bero was ready yet, only to hear more thumping. Deciding to wait for him to come back first she turned back to the desk and started arranging the books so they were stacked in neat piles. For a few minutes she methodically placed on book on top of the next, placing the unread books on one side of the table and the Anatomy book on the other.

As she finished stacking the books she heard Bero's footsteps grow louder, signalling his arrival. She could barely see him under the huge stack of books he was carrying. It wobbled dangerously, the tallest book leaning precariously to the right. Lucy laughed nervously at the sight before quickly snatching half the pile out of Bero's hands. The pair of them dumped the books onto the table, Lucy sighing in relief at the potential catastrophe avoided.

(Lucy _still_ had no idea how Bero managed to carry so many books in one go while he usually couldn't even go two steps without his walking stick...)

The Heartfilia heiress gestured vaguely towards the lone Anatomy book.

"I can't learn it, it says I need at least 30 INT..." she explained.

He nodded, before pointing to the stack of books.

"Try the rest." He demanded.

Lucy gawked at the huge pile in front of her, staring at the old librarian as if to ask if he was serious or not. He stared back, unrelenting, before Lucy finally sighed and picked up a new book. She waited a few seconds for the blue box to appear, but nothing happened.

"Nothing?" Bero asked.

Shaking her head, she placed the book down. For the next few minutes or so she repeated the process, the pile of unresponsive books growing taller whilst the unread pile slowly shrunk. Lucy reached out to another book, briefly glancing at the title, 'Tricks of the Trade', before finally hearing the familiar pop of a window opening.

Wasting no time, she tapped 'yes', eager to see her new skill. The book went up in flames as the new alert window popped up.

 **[Barter (Active) Lvl 1 Exp: 0.00%]**

Haggling over something, the best way to spend your time.

When active, 0.1% discount when buying items.

When active, 0.1% extra when selling items.

Lucy sighed. Why did all of her skills have to be related to politics and business? She relayed the information to Bero, who just nodded and handed the next book to her.

"I hope you're okay with all these books dying a violent, flaming death, Bero..." Lucy muttered as she grasped the book, before plopping it back down.

Bero chuckled, handing her another book, "These are all just copies, Miss Lucy. I very well aware you turn poor, innocent books into a pile of ashes."

Lucy pouted as she grabbed the book.

And so the process began yet again.

The next skill book they had found was called 'Spiritual Connections'.

 **[Meditation (Passive/Active) Lvl 1 Exp: 0.00%]**

Clearing your mind while meditating allows you to become more focused in normal life.

Passively increases INT by 1.

When active, restore additional 20 MP per minute.

Lucy nodded happily at this skill. This sounded a lot more useful to her career as a mage.

The rapidly diminishing stack of books continued to thin, eventually reaching its end. Lucy picked up the last one and...

Stared blankly at the book she held in her hands.

"Seriously?"

Bero shrugged as he watched the girl.

 **You've obtained the skill book [Everything You Need to Know About Fishing].**

 **Would you like to learn the skill?**

 **Yes - No**

Her eyes twitched slightly as she tapped the confirm button, giving Bero a slightly exasperated look as waited for the new window to pop up.

 **[Fishing (Active) Lvl 1 Exp: 0.00%]**

Fishing, one of the most dangerous ways to get food.

20% chance of catching a fish.

5% chance of catching an uncommon fish.

1% chance of catching a rare fish.

0.00001% chance of catching The Fish.

The Fish? Why on earth was that capitalised? Actually no, Lucy really didn't want to know...

And what was so dangerous about fishing...

No. She really, really didn't want to know.

* * *

 _Lucy really didn't mean to eavesdrop, but..._

 _"_ _Layla died because of the thing she loved. She_ died _because of magic."_

 _Lucy heard the voice tremble a bit, cracking at the end. She felt a fresh wave of pain at the mention of her mother's recent passing, but shook her head. She had Mrs Spetto and Chef Aed and Grandpa Bero looking after her, she was going to be fine!_

 _Her father though... he was so sad all the time now, and angry... Which is why Lucy was going to cheer him up!_

 _Just like all children, Lucy had once saw her father as the strongest, an unmovable figure which provided her endless protection and comfort. Recently though, she started to see past her child-like perceptions, noticing the broken shell of a man who was so lost by the death of his wife, unable to find his own way out of the suffocating darkness._

 _"_ _Jude, you must know that Layla's passing was an unfortunate event." Grandpa Bero explained gently, "She had contracted an incurable magical disease, but don't find fault in magic itself –"_

 _"_ _Shut up! Shut_ up, _Bero! How would you know what I feel?"_

 _"_ _I'm very sorry for your loss, Jude, and know that all of us Heartfilia employees were also heartbroken to hear of the news."_

 _"_ _I don't want to hear it! I just... I just want my wife back. I want my wife back." Jude repeated._

 _Lucy shivered at the lifelessness in her father's voice._

 _"_ _We all do, Jude."_

 _"_ _Why..." The broken man whispered, "Why did she leave me?"_

 _"_ _Trust me when I say we did all we could to try save her."_

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah you did. A fat lot of good your magic did! Why couldn't you do anything, huh? Why did you let her –"_

 _Jude let out a moan of sorrow._

 _Lucy, deciding she'd heard enough, quietly walked away._

Thinking back, this was probably when Jude Heartfilia started hating magic. _  
_

* * *

"Miss Heartfilia, your father is requesting your presence in his office." The nasally voice of Mrs Curtis reverberated through the dining hall as Lucy finished up her meal.

Swallowing the last bite, Lucy nodded politely, waiting for one of the servants to pull her chair out for her as she got up.

The wide doors creaked open as Lucy stepped into the room, staring stiffly at the man sitting by the study desk.

"Father." Lucy took in a deep breath.

Jude Heartfilia continued writing for a few minutes; the scratching sound of pen on paper painfully loud in contrast to the otherwise silent room. Lucy took deliberate, calming breaths as she waited for her father to finish up, standing ramrod straight and not moving an inch.

Eventually the scratches slowed to a stop. There was a moment of silence before Jude lifted the paper he was writing on and added it to a neat stack to his left. The sheets crinkled as he aligned the stack and he placed the ballpoint pen on the table with a resolute clank.

"Lucy," He clasped his hands together behind his back, facing the window as he spoke, "You'll be turning sixteen in a few short months. You are old enough to start thinking about your future, and your responsibilities to the Heartfilia estate."

Lucy remained silent as she waited for her father to continue.

"As it is, the Jean-Pierre family has a son, Francis, who's a few years older than you. On my business trip we discussed the possibilities of arranging a marriage between the two of you. The Jean-Pierres are a very old and respectable family, and own many trading ports around the land of Fiore. It would be very beneficial to expand the Heartfilia business beyond our railways. In light of this, I will be hosting a party this coming week, I expect you to familiarise yourself with Francis, do you understand? The two of you will be engaged preferably before you turn seventeen."

Lucy closed her eyes, counting to ten as she listened to her father's explanation. Clenching her hands into fists by her side, she clamped down on her mounting frustration and anger.

"Yes, father. I understand." She gritted her teeth.

Her father continued staring out the window, not even casting a glance her way.

"Good. Now I've heard you've been doing well in your business studies."

"Yes, father." Lucy nodded, even though he couldn't see it with his back turned to her.

"That's the least I expect from you. Alright, that is all I wish to discuss. You may leave now."

Lucy curtsied, before leaving.

* * *

 _"_ _NO! Please stop! Mrs Spetto and the others gave that to me and it must have cost them a fortu-"_

 _SLAP._

 _There was a jingling sound and a flash of gold as Lucy took a few steps back from her father, lifting her hand to touch the reddening cheek._

 _"_ _D-daddy..." She stared at the intimidating man, eyes wide._

 _Jude narrowed his eyes in thought._

 _"_ _What's that in your pockets, Lucy?" He asked, expressionless._

 _Lucy averted her gaze to the side._

 _"_ _N-nothing..." she stuttered._

 _"_ _Lucy."_

 _The girl stiffened at the no-nonsense tone her father was giving her._

 _"_ _It's nothing honestly, I just, I asked Mrs Spetto to give it to me, it's really not her fault and please don't blame her, I just, I just –" Lucy spoke rapidly, trying to get her father to understand._

 _"_ _Turn out your pockets."_

 _There was a moment of silence as the man waited for the girl to do as he ordered, followed by another jingling sound. Immediately, the man's eyes flashed with anger as he stared at the innocent looking keys clasped in his daughter's hands. His lips trembled slightly as the sight reminded him of another woman with blonde hair, laughing in such a carefree manner as she waved her gold and silver keys, magic flowing beautifully around her._

 _'_ _Layla...' Jude Heartfilia thought brokenly._

 _Jude... please? Sing for me._

 _Violent coughs._

 _The song came to an end, and so did Layla's life._

 _Jude gasped at the onslaught of memories, taking a few steps back._

 _"_ _D-daddy?" A small voice whispered._

 _With a flash of fear, Jude snatched the keys away from his daughter, flinging them away from her. They clanked uselessly against the carpet. Ignoring Lucy's cry of protest, his hand clenched around her thin arm, dragging her closer to him._

 _"_ _O-ouch, da –"_

 _"_ _You are_ never _to have anything to do with magic!" Jude roared._

 _Magic, magic took Layla away from him and now it was trying to take his precious daughter, his princess–_

 _Lucy's cries were silenced as she gaped at the stranger in front of her. She trembled at his yelling, looking down in an attempt to hide her face behind her mass of blonde curls. Jude breathed heavily, face turning red as he glared down at the girl. For a moment they stayed like that, the girl shivering in fear and the man too busy trying to reign in his anger to notice._

 _Jude let go of Lucy, faintly feeling a slight sliver of guilt as he saw the red prints on the girl's arm, before shaking it off. He composed himself, shifting his face into an impenetrable, blank mask._

 _"_ _I will be firing all the servants who were involved in giving you that magical device." He announced._

 _Lucy's head snapped up in shock._

 _"_ _What? No, daddy! It's not dangerous, it's just a gaming console, lots of kids have it –"_

 _"_ _And," Jude snapped, interrupting the girl, "I will be throwing those keys away."  
_

* * *

Lucy's hands gently traced the glass display case, feeling the cool, smooth surface against her skin.

"Hey everybody, sorry I haven't visited in a while, some crazy things have been happening lately."

Lucy dragged a nearby chair in front of the display case and sat down. She smiled fondly at the six small pieces of metal lying on a fine satin cloth, admiring the way the sun reflected off the instruments in silver and golden glints.

"Please don't kill me for neglecting you all the past few weeks, Aquarius." Lucy laughed nervously, averting her gaze away from the display case shiftily.

"Anyway, you guys won't _believe_ what my father told me today..." the girl described her day, waving her arms around dramatically at certain parts of her story in excitement.

She was so glad she'd been able to at least save her keys that day, convincing her father to let her keep them. Although, not without drawbacks...

Namely, Lucy's keys were locked away. She was allowed to keep them, but she could never use them. Her gaze fixated on the keyhole embedded in the display case.

Her father had the key need to open the case, and she had no idea where he had hid it.

"I... I don't know what to do, guys." The girl's tone grew serious as she continued her one-sided conversation with her celestial friends.

"He... he sounded serious this time. You guys know how I'd planned to leave this place when I was of age, but now... with the arranged marriage, this puts a real damper to our plans..."

Lucy's original plan was to wait until she was legally an adult, eighteen, to leave the Heartfilia mansion. This way, even if her father wanted his runaway daughter back for some reason or the other, he would have no real hold or power over her.

However, if she were to get engaged before she turned seventeen, and was married before she became of age...

She'd be bound to another family.

Politics of wealthy families were... complicated.

As much as she hated to say it, women in elite society were considered to be objects, property of the heads of their families. Unmarried females were owned by their fathers, until they were married, and then they were owned by their husbands. If their husband died then it would be their sons who had power over them.

Not to say that the women were completely powerless, but they did have considerable limits and boundaries not present for men. Women had to gain power through methods that were a lot subtler. Their influence lay in their family name, as well as their relations and alliances with powerful men.

Despite the fact that the Heartfilia family wasn't of old money and thus didn't have a noble family history, they were one of the wealthiest families of the kingdom and so had considerable influence and power.

Lucy's marriage into one of the oldest families in Fiore would not only expand the Heartfilia business, but also give the Heartfilia name the added authenticity of old money and a rich history. For the Jean-Pierre's, they would obviously get a boon to their monetary wealth with this union.

If Lucy were to run away after getting married to Francis...

The Jean-Pierre's would see it as a personal attack. As Lucy was considered to be a property of the Heartfilia family, if she were to leave they would see it as the Heartfilia's going back on their agreement. It would, in the eyes of the high class milieu, seem as if the Heartfilia's were looking down on the Jean-Pierre's, that they were mocking them and accusing them of not being good enough for the Heartfilia name.

It would be chaos.

A nouveau riche, looking down on one of the most respectable families of the kingdom?

The Jean-Pierre's would no doubt retaliate, working to destroy her father and his business. They had plenty of alliances with other influential families. While Lucy's father had also been working to create his own connections...

He would still be utterly destroyed, no doubt about it.

And Lucy found that, even after all that had happened, all that her father had done, she couldn't allow that. Despite everything... she still cared for the man who had once travelled a full twenty eight hours straight across Fiore, abandoning a business transaction halfway, on the notice that his daughter had broken a leg whilst climbing a tree.

But Lucy refused for her happiness to be compromised. She didn't know, maybe Francis was actually a nice man and she'd enjoy his company but... she would always feel this lingering emptiness of lost opportunities and chances not taken, wondering what it would have been like if she'd left...

Magic was a part of her, and she was not willing to give it up.

But this meant...

This meant Lucy had to run away before she became officially engaged to Francis. She'd have to leave before she was seventeen...

 **Quest Alert**

 **Time to finally take your life into your own hands.**

 **Objectives:  
Find the key to open the display case.  
Leave the Heartfilia mansion for good. **

**Completion Award:  
10000 Exp  
2 gold keys, 4 silver keys**

 **Completion Failure:  
Celestial keys remain locked  
Marriage to Francis Jean-Pierre  
Live a boring life spending your days choosing between this dress or that and smiling at pudgy old men.**

 **Yes – No**

Lucy felt like she should have balked at the idea of having to make such a life changing decision so suddenly, but she felt strangely calm.

With a pop, the alert window disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

 **YES.**

* * *

 **[1] You can insert whatever appropriate song here. If you can't think of any, then think of Jude humming Glitter, Fairy Tail Ending 11 here.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Till next time,**

 **Lonely Box.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi guys. So I'm back. It's been a month. I know, and I'm really really sorry, I can't apologise enough! Lots of things have been happening and I had such a bad writer's block (Loke's a cool character but I just cannot for the life of me write his personality properly for some reason. And you don't want to know how many times I rewrote blocks of the chapter). But yes, I'm back! Hope you all enjoy.**

 **Oh and I have to say - over 40 favourites, over 60 followers and over 10 reviews? Thank you all so much for your support and kind words! As a celebration (and apology for the long wait) this chapter is extra long, with a little bonus** ** _omake_** **at the end. The support you guys show honestly motivate me a lot so please continue to do so and I'll try my best to write faster and better stuff.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or The Gamer. I don't earn any money from this.**

* * *

 _Four months later._

The Heartfilia heiress suppressed a groan of frustration as she roughly pulled at her blonde curls. Absentmindedly, her eyes skimmed over the rows of neatly printed words in front of her, none of the them actually sinking in. She sighed, flipping the book shut and (not so carefully) tossing it onto her bed. Without figuring out a way to escape this house - she wouldn't call it a home, never a home - with her celestial friends safely by her side, she couldn't even focus on one of her favourite pastimes.

Four months. Lucy had been stuck for four months, trying to figure out a way to get the key to the display case. She knew it was in her father's study room somewhere but her father was holed in there practically all day and when he wasn't he locked it up.

The only ones who had the key to Jude Heartfilia's study room were himself and...

"You know, I saw Mrs Curtis and the butler making out in the empty guest room on the second floor the other day!"

Lucy paused and shifted closer towards the voices. They were slightly muffled with most of the sound being obstructed by the wall, but she recognised the voices – it was Maggie and Samantha, the two younger maids in the mansion.

"No way, ye've got ta be lyin'. That's gross! Curtis and Gilman, t'gether? I do not like the image my mind is conjurin'."

The voices moved away and Lucy pressed her whole body flat against the wall, ear glued to the cool stone. They were slowly fading but she could still make out the next Samantha's next statement quite clearly.

"Please, it's even worse actually witnessing it. There I was mopping the floor and I heard some weird sounds. So I see this room that's got a half opened door, and I peeked in to investigate... And there they were. I seriously wish I could wipe my memory right now."

The walls have ears indeed.

* * *

 _Two days later._

Most animals can be quite patient when hunting. The wolf stilled its movements and listened carefully for the slight squeak or rustling of leaves from the dancing mice, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce once they identified the exact location of the sound. The rattlesnake lay motionless, coiled and camouflaged in the grass as they waited for the bird to be at its most vulnerable to jump out and squeeze. The eagle owl perched on a branch in the dark, waiting also, for the unfortunate hare to stumble into their range before swooping in, talons outstretched, swiping with one effortless movement to snatch it away from the ground.

Well this predator was patient enough to have waited four months for this moment. Her trap was set.

Sharp, brown eyes focused on the lone figure strutting up the long hallway, chin jutted proudly. Completely oblivious to the talons waiting in the silence of the shadows to snap out and swipe. Like the owl she stayed still, waiting patiently for her moment to strike.

The prey paused.

Perfect.

"[Manipulate]."

Lucy walked up to Mrs Curtis, smiling politely at the head maid.

"Mrs Curtis, I hope you have been well."

Mrs Curtis sniffed as her eyes immediately latched onto Lucy's attire.

"Miss Heartfilia, what are you doing walking around wearing only your nightgown? You know this is utterly inappropriate for a young lady such as yourself." She sneered.

Lucy looked down submissively as if she was agreeing with the old lady, inwardly doing an excited hop.

Her prey was right where she wanted them to be.

"Yes, Mrs Curtis, it is indeed very important to be 'appropriate' at all times. I'm very sorry for not heeding to the correct dress code." Lucy nodded emphatically, appearing as though she wholeheartedly believed what she was saying.

Mrs Curtis relaxed, nodding. "It is good you know, so hurry up and go change."

Lucy made no move to leave.

"Say, Mrs Curtis. As the head maid of the Heartfilia family you're very knowledgeable in what's 'appropriate' and what's not, right?"

"Yes…" The woman drawled, not entirely sure where the conversation was going. She shifted so her arms were crossed, waiting impatiently for Lucy to continue.

"So what do you think of... workplace affairs? It's very unprofessional and inappropriate, am I correct? You know, my father hates unprofessionalism. It'd be a terrible shame if anyone were to be caught… not that I'm saying there were anyone like that. But just think about it! He'd be so mad he'd fire anyone immediately! No matter if you were the _butler or if you were the head maid_!"

Lucy smirked, watching Mrs Curtis slowly pale as she caught onto what the girl was saying. Her mouth opened then closed repeatedly, gaping like a goldfish at the girl standing in front of her. The old woman stuttered out a few incoherent words as she pointed a shaking finger at Lucy, letting out inconsistent puffs of breath as she did. She watched in fascination as the head maid's face shifted from being as white as a ghost's to a deep angry purple, scrunched up and wrinkling unattractively like a shrivelled prune.

"You – I – how did – What – What do you want?" Mrs Curtis whispered frantically, glancing around anxiously as if she was checking to see if anyone had heard.

"Who, me?" Lucy widened her eyes innocently, "I don't want anything from you! I was just curious on your thoughts about office affairs! I didn't mean anything by that, really. Why are you reacting so strongly to this, anyway?"

Mrs Curtis' cheeks puffed out in anger or embarrassment, Lucy didn't know. Probably a bit of both.

"Don't lie to me, girl! You know, don't you? Who told you! This could ruin everything! I could lose my job – I'm going to – who told you? Was it Gilman? That no good, worthless –" Mrs Curtis clutched Lucy's shoulders, shaking frantically as she rapidly fired off questions.

Perfect.

"Thank you, Mrs Curtis." Lucy smiled broadly at the blubbering woman, "No it wasn't Mr Gilman who told me. Actually, you told me!"

The older woman barely had time to react as Lucy strolled to the window and pulled back the curtain to reveal a faintly glowing orb the size of her palm.

"This is a recording lacrima! Everything you said just now? That's been recorded into this cute little thing and ready to be broadcast throughout the whole mansion. Isn't it so nifty?" Lucy rolled the orb back and forth in her hand, looking utterly fascinated by it, "And before you ask, my father was the one who allowed me to use this magic. He wanted more… accurate information on the efficiency of the servants in the mansion."

Mrs Curtis, if possible, got even redder.

"You're lying! Your father would never –"

"You tell me," Lucy cut her off, shooting her a frosty glare, "how Jude Heartfilia thinks. To him, everything's value is based on their usefulness. His disapproval of magic? Well at the time he prohibited it because it hindered my growth as an heiress. Now? It's just another useful tool. You, on the other hand… your value just decreased, by quite a bit. And don't even think about trying to grab this and running for it, I made copies and sent it to random servants across the castle as soon as I touched it just now."

The head maid shook in her spot, cowering as she stared at the Heartfilia heiress.

"P-please, Miss Heartfilia. I'll lose my job, I'm not young anymore, I won't be employed again! Wh- what do you want from me? What do you want? I'll give it to you!" She scooted closer, grovelling at the blonde's feet.

"I told you, I don't want anything from you! However…" Lucy smiled kindly down at the lump lying in front of her.

"What is it? What is it!"

"Well… I am going to be inheriting the Heartfilia estates someday along with my husband…" Lucy drawled, watching as the woman nodded emphatically, eager to agree, "And, naturally, I'd want to familiarise myself with my future office room, which is currently my father's. Unfortunately, my father is a very… private… person, and so apart from him, only you have the keys to the room. I'd like to borrow it, just for a little while. Pretty please?"

The clanking of a key being pulled off the keychain sounded throughout the room.

 **[Manipulation] succeeded.**

 **[Beginner's Manipulation]'s level has increased by one.**

"Was that a good bluff, or was that a good bluff?" Lucy cackled deviously as she pressed the button on the glowing orb, watching as the light flickered desperately for a moment before dying out.

It sure was a good thing Mrs Curtis couldn't tell the difference between magical lacrimas and plain old children toys.

* * *

This was it. She had all everything in plan. Now all she had to wait was for the right time.

* * *

 _Three weeks later._

Loke was bored. This was a rare occurrence in and of itself considering he was in the company of a beautiful young lady but...

Man, he'd forgotten how dull these high class parties were.

"Oh look, my love! That's my father over there, let's go say hello! I'm sure he'll like you!" Hannah (his new girlfriend) gushed, dragging Loke along by the arm towards a group of identical looking men, all holding a glass of wine in their hands and wearing immaculate black suits.

Loke himself was also wearing a black suit, for the first time since she... for the first time since he'd begun serving his permanent sentence on Earthland. He felt a lot closer to his identity as "Leo the Lion" than "Loke of Fairy Tail" without his characteristic sunglasses and green hoodie jacket.

Subtly, he adjusted his tie. It suddenly felt constraining and tight, chokingly wrapped around his neck like a leash.

"Daddy!" Hannah cried out happily as the pair neared the men. She let go of Loke's arm, running towards a man with a bald, egg shaped head.

Loke took advantage of her distraction and slipped back into the crowd.

Honestly he liked Hannah enough, she was a sweet girl but...

" _Loke, we must be soul mates!"_

" _I know my dad may not approve but I love you!"_

" _... And when we marry, I'm sure my mum will be so..."_

Loke shifted uncomfortably. Sure he was a flirt, but he wasn't cruel. He'd make it very clear that he wasn't looking for a serious relationship before starting to romance girls, but this one was so sure she could 'tame the bad boy'...

He didn't even want to come to the party but...

" _Please, Loke! My daddy really wants to meet you!" Hannah whined._

 _Loke grimaced slightly as the girl clung onto his sleeve. Taking a step back, he pulled his face into a gentlemanly smile._

" _I really don't think that's a great idea..." He stated carefully._

 _Hannah burst into tears._

" _B-but y-y-you p-promised and I-I love you a-and" she wailed, covering her face with her hands._

" _Uhhh..." Loke looked around, noticing a crowd gathering._

 _Loke flailed his arms around, flapping them uselessly as he (desperately) tried to stop the onslaught of tears pouring out from the girl. It wasn't like he'd never made a girl cry before but he still had no idea what to do in situations like this. In all honesty he kind of wanted to cry a little himself, purely out of frustration._

" _C'mon, Hannah, don't ruin that pretty face with tears, okay? Please stop crying, you're kind of making a scene..." Loke said nervously._

 _Hannah let out another shriek of despair, hiccuping and blubbering incoherently and holy crap this girl could cry._

" _Jeez, what a jerk... did he make that girl cry? What's wrong with him?"_

 _Loke twitched slightly as he registered the whispers of the crowd. Their judgemental eyes were really starting to annoy him and Hannah was_ still _crying and –_

" _Alright! Alright I'll go to the party, okay? So stop crying!" Loke caved._

And so here he was, attending the party... and trying to avoid Hannah and her father.

He expertly weaved around the waves of people on the dance floor, trying to put as much distance between him and his current girlfriend as possible. Glancing around, Loke found a secluded corner. Swiftly he strode towards the area, hiding himself behind a white pillar. He leaned his head against the cool marble while he rubbed his temples slowly.

He guessed he'd have to avoid Hannah for the rest of the party. Absentmindedly, he registered the melody resonating from the corner where the live orchestra was playing. The atmosphere created by the classical music was one that Loke was unaccustomed to, being much more familiar with the beat heavy, blasting tunes of the clubs he usually dwelled in.

Abruptly, the lights dimmed and the music stopped.

"Ahem. I'd like to thank you all for attending this party. As you all know, we have recently branched out the Heartfilia railways into the City of Thyme, and this calls for some celebration..." The man on the podium spoke, microphone amplifying his voice so all the guests could hear.

That was the host, Jude Heartfilia. Loke scanned the large ballroom with bored eyes – frankly, he didn't really care all that much about the Heartfilia railways or whatever... Everyone else seemed to be paying attention though.

He caught a bit of movement in his peripheral vision. Turning around, Loke's gaze shifted just in time to see a flash of blonde hair as one of the exit doors closed shut.

'Interesting…'

* * *

"Miss Heartfilia, I'd like to offer my congratulations on behalf of the Jean-Pierre family to the expansion of the Heartfilia railways..."

Lucy nodded politely towards Francis, keeping her smile plastered on her face the entire time. Letting the chatter of her 'future fiancé' wash over her, she inconspicuously rubbed her hands together, trying to rub the cold sweat producing on her palms due to her nervousness away.

This was it. Tonight was the perfect chance to infiltrate the study room.

Now if only she could get away from Francis...

"Ahem. I'd like to thank you all for attending this party. As you all know, we have recently branched out the Heartfilia railways into the City of Thyme, and this calls for some celebration..." Jude spoke, capturing everyone's attention.

The room quietened as the live orchestra stopped playing. Francis turned his attention towards the podium.

Lucy couldn't help the wide grin in anticipation that split her face as she quietly slipped out of the hall. The door gently clicked shut behind her.

She could hear a set of footsteps walking down the hallway. Lucy paused, hiding behind a large potted plant as she waited for the person to pass. Peeking her head out she could make out the shape of one of the maid dresses. There were some maids still walking around tonight, though most of the employees were in the ballroom serving the guests and all that.

Lucy navigated through the mansion quietly, trying her best not to alert anyone to her presence.

 **A skill has been created through a special act.**

 **Through continuously slinking in the shadows, a skill to make you more unnoticeable, 'Sneak', has been created.**

'Neat.' Lucy thought as she waved away the notification, immediately checking out her new skill.

 **[Sneak (Active) Lvl 1 Exp: 0.00%]**

Sneaking, you don't stomp like an elephant when you walk.

When active, 5% less likely to be noticed.

Lucy activated the skill, before continuing on her path. She passed two more maids unnoticed before she finally reached her destination.

Click!

The door unlocked.

Lucy shivered slightly as she felt a cool breeze against her skin. The curtain flapped quietly as wind gently blew through the still open window. She'd broken into her father's study, and he was just a few corridors away.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped towards her father's study table. Her hands reached out over the table top to grasp the handle of the desk drawer. She opened it, hands reaching in to shuffle the papers out of the way t -

"Care for a dance?"

Lucy whipped her head around.

* * *

What was she doing?

Loke followed the blonde haired girl from a distance, watching as she hid behind potted plants and pillars from the stray Heartfilia employees while making her way determinedly towards... wherever she wanted to go. He would admit she was pretty good at remaining undetected.

Was she a thief? It wouldn't be surprising considering Jude Heartfilia was such a wealthy tycoon that someone would try getting their hands on some of his treasure.

She stopped in front of one of the doors. The jingling sound of keys echoed softly down the hall for a few seconds before there was a click as she pushed the door open.

Well, Loke didn't really care for Jude Heartfilia but he was still a proud mage of Fairy Tail. Sitting by and watching someone get robbed didn't really sit well with him. So he followed her in.

She was shuffling through drawers, back turned to him. He stepped into the room quietly. She still didn't indicate any sign of noticing him.

"Care for a dance?" He drawled, breaking the silence.

Her head whipped around to the direction of the voice. Loke gave her a crooked smile, watching as her stance shifted into a defensive one.

Hm... she was quite beautiful, despite the whole stealing thing.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Hm, me?" Loke replied, smiling innocently, "I'm just a random passerby. I couldn't help but notice a gorgeous lady walking around, and so I followed. Mind telling me what you're doing here? Because it doesn't look very good for you, sweetheart. You snooping around for some quick cash? While I don't really like fighting women, I do feel obliged to stop you."

The blonde beauty bit her lip as she glared at him. Someone didn't seem happy with him interrupting in their business. Her eyes darted left and right as if she were looking for an escape but both of them knew that he was blocking off the only exit to the room. Scowling with frustration, she took a step forward.

Crap. Loke wasn't lying, he really didn't like laying a hand on women. Hadn't he already done enough damage? A woman had already died at his hands.

Well, he only needed to stall long enough for someone else to find them.

"Excuse me, what is going on in here?" A voice from outside the room called out firmly.

Well it looked like he didn't have to stall too long after all. Loke turned around to smirk triumphantly at the thief, only to see her whisper something under her breath. He couldn't hear what she'd said, but felt a sense of dread wash over him.

"Help me!" The blonde beauty cried out pitifully.

Wait, what.

* * *

 **?**

 **Lvl ? Loke**

 **HP:? MP:?**

This was the first time Lucy had seen question marks instead of the trusty information her [Observe] skill usually gave her and she had come to rely upon.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Lucy demanded suspiciously.

Question marks generally meant one thing in games. This person standing in front of her's level was way higher than hers. And there was no way she'd be able to beat him. Just who was he? She had never seen someone this strong before.

 **Quest Alert**

 **Haven't you ever heard of the term, curiosity killed the cat?**

 **Objectives:**

 **Figure out Loke's identity.**

 **Bonus Objectives:**

 **?**

 **?**

 **Completion Award:**

 **200000 Exp**

 **20000 Jewels**

 **400000 Exp per bonus objective.**

 **? on completion of all bonus objectives.**

 **Completion Failure:**

 **?**

 **Yes – No**

What.

Lucy gawked at the completion award. How many zeroes was that?! A guaranteed 200000 Exp upon completion? Just who was this Loke guy?!

"Excuse me, what is going on in here?" A voice from outside the room called out firmly.

It was one of the guards in the mansion, Lucy recognised the voice. She was in trouble. She was doomed. If her father found out she ever broke in here, she was dead. She had to do something. She could, she could…

Lucy quickly accepted the quest ( _hell yes_ she was going to do this) as she quickly formulated a plan in her mind.

"[Manipulate]." She whispered, staring at the handsome stranger in front of her.

 **?**

 **Lvl ? Loke**

 **HP:? MP:?**

She felt just a tiny bit guilty for what she was about to do to this person who was just trying to do something he thought was right, but…

In all honesty she was angrier at him for destroying all her carefully laid plans. It was irrational, she knew, he didn't deserve her ire but why did he have to be so nosy? If he'd just minded his own goddamn business she could have finally gotten her ticket out of this place.

Fuelled by this sense of frustration, she let out a high pitched cry, "Help me!"

Ignoring the startled look on this Loke character's face, she waited half a second before the guard (she recognised him, he'd started working here a few months ago, Simon was his name) came bursting into the room.

Quickly ducking herself behind the guard, she pointed an accusing finger at Loke.

"He's an intruder!" She cried out, making sure to and a few trembles in her voice to make herself seem more fragile and scared.

Simon glanced confusedly at her, but never shifted his focus away from Loke.

"But what are you doing here in the first place, Miss Heartfilia?" He questioned.

Loke took a moment to register the fact that the guard seemed to know the pretty thief. He opened his mouth to ask about the blonde haired girl's identity but was cut off by the aforementioned girl herself.

"I was enjoying my time at the ball when I saw him lurking around suspiciously. He left the ballroom and I decided to follow him to see what he was up to!" Lucy started, glaring accusingly at the spiky haired man.

Loke stared incredulously, mouth opened. She did not just do that.

"Excuse me sir, but you have to believe me. This woman is lying -"

"And then," Lucy continued loudly, cutting him off, "I found him here, no doubt trying to steal something!"

Loke suppressed a scowl as he watched the guard nod sympathetically at the girl. This was not going well for him. The guard seemed to believe the girl and at this rate it seemed like _he_ was the one that was going to end up in a whole lot of trouble instead.

"I tried to stop him and he…" she broke off, letting out an anguished sob before covering her face with her hands.

Loke inwardly scoffed. Come on, there was no way the guard would fall for that act - she was good but she overdid it with that -

"And he… touched me, in- inappropriately! H-he was g-grabbing my arm and t-trying to push me a-against the wall and…"

What. What. Did this sneaky lying woman just insinuate that he tried to-

"What." Loke repeated dumbly.

The next few hours were the most blurred and confusing of his life as more guards poured into the room and dragged him out. He remembered protesting weakly, all which fell onto deaf ears as the men hauled him out of the mansion, the last thing he saw as the doors closed being the satisfied smile of the blonde thief.

As he was handed over to the royal guards and dragged to the nearest prison cell which would be his home for the next few days, he ran his hand through his spiky hair.

He cursed the beautiful blond burglar for even daring to think that he'd ever ra- do such atrocious things to a woman, cursed the guards for being so stupidly gullible, and cursed himself for letting Hannah drag him to the stupid party in the first place.

If this incident got out to Erza, he was so dead.

* * *

 **You have slept in a tree. HP and MP are 10% restored.**

The bark scratched slightly, but not uncomfortably, against Lucy's arms as she shifted on the branch. A thick net of leaves stretched above her, shielding her from the blinding sun. Random rays of light filtered through the gaps of the canopy, splashing on her face and body. The slight pink hue colouring the sky alerted Lucy that it was almost sunset.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the peaceful, slightly lazy atmosphere of the late afternoon.

When she was younger she'd always come to the forest. It lay just outside of Heartfilia property, next to the mountains. She had loved taking long walks and having picnics here with her parents when her mother was still alive.

This was her favourite spot, an oak tree standing at the edge of a clearing.

Lucy picked slightly at the bark, peeling some strips off.

She'd failed. It was all going to plan, she'd gotten the key to her father's study, she'd even managed to sneak into the room. She was so close, so close…

All because of that stupid spiky haired no good nosy 'gentleman' who didn't know that meaning of leave someone alone –

Lucy sighed, running her hand through her hair in frustration.

No it wasn't his fault, not really. He was doing the right thing trying to stop what he perceived to be a thief trying to steal someone's valuables. And he wasn't wrong; Lucy had been trying to steal something.

Throughout the past few weeks Lucy had manipulated and blackmailed, deceived and now she was trying to steal…

"[Skills]." Lucy said tiredly, waiting for the alert window to pop up.

 **Gamer's Mind – Passive – Max** – Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological status effect.

 **Gamer's Body – Passive – Max** – Grants a body that allows for a user to live the real world like a game.

 **Observe – Passive/Active –** **2** – Through continuous observation a skill to observe objects, situations and persons was generated that allows information gather to be quick. The higher the skill the greater the data is obtained.

 **Beginner's Manipulation – Passive/Active –** **3** – Allows the user to adapt or influence a person or situation to suit their purpose or advantage.

 **Meditation – Passive/Active - 9** – Clearing the mind and relaxing the body grants a more balanced, focused spirit.

 **Barter – Active – 1** – Grants the user a better deal when purchasing or selling items.

 **Fishing – Active – 1** – Allows the player to catch fish, an item which can be sold or used as an ingredient in cooking.

 **Tailoring – Active – 5** – Allows the player to cut and trim fabric to create the clothing you want.

 **Dancing – Active – 6** – Move your body and feet rhythmically to the music.

 **[Beginners Manipulation (Passive/Active) Lvl 3 Exp: 3.46%]**

Influence others using nothing but your sharp wit.

Passively increases WIS by 0.2%

When active, an additional 12% to CHA.

 **[Meditation (Passive/Active) Lvl 9 Exp: 18.03%]**

Clearing your mind while meditating allows you to become more focused in normal life.

Passively increases INT by 2.

When active, restores additional 28 MP per minute.

For four months, ever since she'd received her quest to leave the Heartfilia mansion Lucy had been stuck trying day after day to think up an idea to unlock the display case and finally free her friends. And each day she was faced with failure, failure and more failure. Her father had decided to stop going on business trips now of all times so she wasn't able to snoop around and find some clues as freely as she wished.

In order to 'prepare' her properly for her marriage to Francis she was practically drowned in extra tutoring lessons on top of her new lessons on sewing, dancing and letter writing. The only skill she could really practice was her meditation which she managed to fit in half an hour or so every day before she slept.

While the plus side was that both sewing and dancing increased her DEX by five points and gave her two new skills and her tenacious studying had increased her INT by nine points, she was beginning to run out of time.

Her father and the Jean-Pierre family were beginning to push the process along faster, and if it was up to them she and Francis would be engaged very, very soon.

But did that justify her means of escaping? Lying, manipulating, blackmailing… before this whole Gamer business she hadn't even dreamed of doing all these things. Things that… things that her father would probably do in order to further his business.

No. This was her freedom and her celestial spirits' freedom she was talking about. So she may have... bent some rules... in order to do so but personal freedom was more important than any of that.

 **You have entered a hidden dungeon.** Recommended level: 8

Wait, what?

Lucy was suddenly very aware of just how silent the forest was. Just moments before she was surrounded by the noises of the wind blowing and the birds cawing. Her hair stood up on end as she sat stiffly on the branch.

She hadn't realised she'd been sitting here for so long; the sun had already set. Hearing a rustling sound, she turned to see some movement near the edge of the clearing.

 **Abnormally Large Wolf – Lvl 7**

Well, wasn't this just wonderful?

Lucy barely had time to react before two more wolves stalked into the clearing.

This was getting better and better.

Lazily, they inched towards the tree Lucy was sitting in.

What did they say about wolves again? They could wait a long, long time for their prey. And uh, what did wolves eat again?

"[Observe]."

 **Abnormally Large Wolf – Lvl 7**

 **HP: 400/400 MP: 60/60**

 **[Observe]'s level has increased by one!**

'Yes, it levelled up!' Lucy celebrated internally. Maybe this would give her some new information…

 **Abnormally Large Wolf – Lvl 7**

 **HP: 400/400 MP: 60/60**

 **While generally wolves feed on hares, mice, and other small mammals, due to the abnormally large sizes of these wolves they hunt larger prey, for example humans. Like you! Beware of their claws and teeth. When they find their prey, they are extremely persistent and will hunt them until they're dead.**

'Wonderful. Thank you so much for basically telling me I'm about to die.' Lucy thought angrily.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy calmed her thoughts. What could she do in this situation?

She literally had no battle related skills, and she was stuck in a tree. If she were to climb down she'd be dead before she could say 'eep'. Clearly she couldn't just wait it out and hope that the wolves would just leave after a while, her [Observe] skill told her as much. She really didn't see how she could get herself out of this situation.

She was so dead.

Just as Lucy was about to let out a cry of frustration, she paused. She could have sworn she heard a roaring –

 **Abnormally Large Bear – Lvl 9**

 **HP: 900/900 MP: 10/10**

 **This bear is a typical more brawn than brains type of guy. As well as being abnormally large, this big guy is also abnormally slow, in all senses of the word. Though it might not be the sharpest knife in the kitchen, it does have the sharpest claws in this forest. It can even tear through bones with ease!**

Lucy didn't even know how to react anymore. Did her magic not comprehend that now was really not the time for jokes?

She locked eyes with the bear. It gave another mighty roar as it stood on its hind legs, claws reaching out to swipe at the tree she was resting on.

She was about to die a horrific death by becoming the chew toy of three wolves or skewered by a bear.

Or maybe not.

Lucy stared, amazed, as the wolves howled and fell into a defensive stance, surrounding the bear. At some silent signal they all attacked at once, jaws sinking into the furry coat of the bear. As if it finally understood it was being attacked, the bear howled in agony before swiping down at one of the wolves. It's claws struck true as it sank into the wolves' neck.

 **Critical hit!**

 **Abnormally Large Wolf – Lvl 7**

 **HP: 0/400 MP: 60/60**

It was like staring at an accident. It was bloody, gory and disgusting, but Lucy couldn't look away. She watched as the first wolf let out a whimper and dropped to the ground, unmoving. The bear stumbled blindly as he swiped at the other two wolves, backing into the tree Lucy was sitting in.

She couldn't help but let out a shout in surprise as the branch shook violently, threatening to throw her to the ground. Hugging to the trunk, she vaguely noticed the wolf that had clung onto the bear's back had taken the full impact of that hit, dropping to the ground.

 **Abnormally Large Wolf – Lvl 7**

 **HP: 340/400 MP: 60/60**

The wolf shook its head before lunging again. Why were they even fighting?

Probably because they all wanted her for dinner and she was barely enough to feed one of them.

Lucy watched in morbid fascination as the bear finally swiped at the last wolf, slashing at its eyes. Really, they should be called abnormally aggressive wolves and bears instead.

'What will happen once they finish fighting?' Lucy suddenly thought, 'Whoever the victor, they'll be wanting to claim their price... me. I have to get away somehow.'

The blinded wolf howled in agony as it stumbled around, trying to regain its balance.

'Well whatever the outcome, the winner's still going to be pretty injured. Maybe I could wait here for the right moment, and as soon as I find an opening I could strike... but I barely have any strength, I probably won't even put a dent in their health...'

Lucy wasn't all that strong right now; currently she was level five. It was extremely hard to gain experience to level up in the mansion. She got some from the little quests her tutors gave out once in awhile and when her skills levelled up but it was nowhere near enough.

She'd managed to gain two levels, getting five stat points to distribute per level. She had yet to distribute them to her stats as there really wasn't any need to rush, and she'd wanted to put more thought into it first.

Well maybe now was a good time to put it to use.

"Strength, strength, put it all in strength!" Lucy whispered frantically, dumping all the points in.

She vaguely noticed the bear's claws slicing through the blinded wolf's body. Maybe she should have put some in her VIT...

Then again, even with the boosted VIT she'd probably still die with one hit.

Lucy grunted as she broke off a thick looking branch from the tree. It wasn't much of a weapon... but better than nothing. She crouched on the branch she was sitting on ready to strike at a moment's notice, returning her attention to the fight.

It wasn't much of a fight. Despite the fact that the wolves were so much faster and agile than the bear, their HP and attack, and defence were significantly lower, while each of the bear's deadly strike critically damaged the wolves.

 **Abnormally Large Bear – Lvl 9**

 **HP: 78/900 MP: 10/10**

However, the wolves did inflict some serious injuries onto the bear before they fell. The bear groaned in pain as it hobbled around, looking around confusedly.

'Now's my chance!'

Lucy let out a loud cry as she jumped out of the tree, thick branch held high above her head. The bear barely had time to turn around towards the noise before she plunged the tip of the branch into a wound one of the wolves had previously inflicted.

 **Critical hit!**

 **Abnormally Large Bear – Lvl 9**

 **HP: 0/900 MP: 10/10**

With one last roar the bear dropped to the ground, dead. Lucy yelped as she lost her balance on the bear, falling flat on her face with an "oof!"

Multiple alert windows popped up, but Lucy ignored them.

'There may be more of these beasts in the forest. I can't stay here!'

Scrambling to her feet, Lucy ran towards the Heartfilia mansion without looking back. She felt slightly sharp pains shooting up her feet – jumping from a tall tree onto a giant bear was actually not as fun as she'd imagined. Kind of like how your stomach would hurt if you belly-flopped into water.

 **You have left the hidden dungeon.**

Her feet still continued to move, she refused to stop until she was safely locked behind her bedroom doors.

The doors slammed shut as Lucy gasped for breath. Unceremoniously flopping onto her bed, she waited a few minutes for her breathing to calm before she turned her focus to the alert windows.

 **A skill has been created through a special act.**

 **By finishing an enemy with a critical blow, a skill to finish an enemy, 'Deadly Strike', has been created.**

 **[Deadly Strike (Active) Lvl 1 Exp: 0.00%]**

Stab straight at a vulnerable or previously wounded spot to deliver a critical blow.

When active, 100% chance of critical hit.

50% chance of missing target.

 **Congratulations! Your level has increased by 1.**

Lucy hadn't really payed attention while she was kind of running for her life back in the forest, but she guessed she gained some experience... a lot of experience from 'defeating' that bear. Even though really, the wolves were the one that bit a chunk out of its HP.

Wow, though. That one single monster gave her that much EXP... If it weren't for the fact that she almost died she'd actually go back to try gain some more levels...

 **You have slept in your bed. HP and MP are fully restored.**

"What am I doing." Lucy sighed as she stood at the edge of the forest, staring up at the looming trees as the moon illuminated the night sky.

 **You have entered a hidden dungeon.** Recommended level: 8

* * *

Lucy had figured out a neat little trick. If she stayed just on the edge of the hidden dungeon she could step right out of the dungeon and the wolf wouldn't follow her. After a few minutes of growling and snapping its teeth at her, it would lose interest and turn around to start heading back into the forest. It was at that moment where she would attack, sometimes with her [Deadly Strike] which allowed her to chip off a decent amount of hitpoints from the giant beast. It would turn around to attack her after recovering from the blow but Lucy would take the advantage of its moment of confusion to run back outside the dungeon.

It kind of felt like cheating and it was an extremely tedious process considering she had to carefully goad the enemy to the edge while not getting hit herself but it was well worth it for the experience.

 **Abnormally Large Wolf – Lvl 7**

 **HP: 40/400 MP: 60/60**

The wolf growled for a few more moments, pacing near the edge of the hidden dungeon before turning around.

"[Deadly Strike]!" Lucy yelled as she stabbed the wolf in the back.

With a whimper the wolf's HP lowered to zero and its carcass disintegrated before Lucy's eyes.

"... did that wolf just leave loot behind?" Lucy stared incredulously, the knife she had managed to pilfer from the kitchen still gripped tightly in her hand.

Last time she hadn't stayed behind so she wouldn't have known.

"Jewels? It left behind jewels? And a wolf pelt?" She picked up the loot gingerly, brushing her fingers over the wolf fur, "But where do I keep this? I can't just lug this thing back with me..."

Lucy contemplated this as she stared down at the goods.

"Maybe," She mused to herself, "Let's try... [Inventory]?"

Several small boxes appeared in neat rows and columns, making a perfect square on her right side. On the left side the same small boxes spread on top of a light outline of a person's body. In one of the boxes was a mini image of the nightgown Lucy was currently wearing (her nightgown was literally the only piece of clothing she owned that she could move vaguely comfortably in).

Months of having this Gamer ability and only just now did Lucy figure out that she had an inventory button. Well to be fair the amount of things she owned was actually very little, which was surprising as she came from such a wealthy background, so she never really needed to put things into an inventory.

Well, better late than never.

With that mindset Lucy placed the wolf pelt and jewels into her inventory, before turning back to face the entrance of the hidden dungeon.

Time to get some more experience.

* * *

 _One week later._

 **Due to lack of sleeping and proper rest, you have gained the temporary status effect, "Exhausted".**

"Ugh..." Lucy groaned as she stumbled into the library, bumping into the door and a few tables along the way.

"[Status]." She called out weakly as she dropped unceremoniously into her chair.

 **Name:** Lucy Heartfilia

 **Class:** The Gamer

 **Title:** None

 **Level:** 8

 **Affiliation:** Heartfilia family

 **HP:** 150/150

 **MP:** 440/440

 **STR:** 15

 **VIT:** 5

 **DEX:** 14

 **INT:** 37

 **WIS:** 12 (12.072)

 **LUK:** 3

 **SPD:** 6

 **CHA:** 14

 **Status:** Heartfilia Heiress (+1 CHA & +1 INT per Lvl, +50% experience gain to the [Manipulation] skills), Celestial Mage (+1 INT & +1 WIS per Lvl), Exhausted [Temporary] (-50% all stats, experience gain to skills and HP & MP restoration rate)

 **Lucy Heartfilia is the only child of Jude and Layla Heartfilia and heiress to the Heartfilia estates. She strives to become a strong celestial mage like her late mother.**

 **Point:** 15

 **Jewels:** 1652

Lucy groaned as she slowly registered the temporary affects her one week of not sleeping properly had on her body. The past few days had consisted of her sneaking out of bed at night while everyone was asleep to get some training in at the hidden dungeon in the forest.

In all honesty she actually hadn't expected any adverse effects to come from her skipping a few nights of sleep, considering all it did was restore her HP and MP, which she hadn't really needed so far (she was very careful in the dungeon, she hadn't gotten hit even once yet.)

The results were satisfying and worth it though. In merely one week she had managed to gain two more levels, and levelled up [Sneak] three times by avoiding the night guards patrolling in and around the mansion and levelled up her [Deadly Strike] twice.

"You look like a zombie, Miss Lucy." Lucy started turning her head in the direction of the voice but stopped immediately as a wave of dizziness rushed through her.

Swiftly closing her eyes, Lucy again questioned her sanity in deciding that not sleeping for days was a good idea. Her improvement was definitely not worth the horrible effects.

"I'd get you some hot tea but this is the library and I don't want you spilling any onto the books." Bero's voice rang out.

Lucy muttered an incoherent reply, gently rubbing her temples as if to cast away the unwelcome throbbing in her head.

"I did warn you that this might happen. You are still human, after all." Bero sighed.

Lucy opened one eye and lifted her head slightly to glare up at the older man before returning to her 'dead' position. For a few minutes she was rewarded with blissful silence which did wonders for her headache as Bero shuffled around to organise some books.

"Oh, Miss Lucy. Here."

Lucy opened her eyes to see a book hovering in front of her face. She half swatted at it and half reached out to grab at it, looking at the cover.

 **You've obtained the skill book [The Anatomy].**

 **Would you like to learn the skill?**

 **Yes – No**

"Your INT's over 30 now, isn't it? You can try learning this later, when you're less tired." Bero smiled gently down at the girl.

Lucy smiled back tiredly, "Thanks, Bero."

He nodded, before poking the girl lightly with his walking cane.

"You should go get some rest now, before you collapse."

Lucy nodded dazedly, before shakily making her way towards her room. Sleep sounded good right about now.

* * *

 **You have slept in your bed. HP and MP are fully restored.**

Lucy blinked open her eyes blearily. Throwing the covers off herself, Lucy trotted towards the curtains, opening them wide. The sun had already set. Lucy would guess that it was an hour or so after midnight, judging by the position of the moon.

 **You slept well. Temporary status [Exhausted] has been removed.**

Lucy was extremely glad that ordeal was over and done with. She was never going to try that ever again, no matter how dire the circumstances. It was a terrible experience that she wasn't willing to relive anytime soon.

But… it wasn't like she could fall back asleep now, Lucy felt really well rested and her mind was awake. What could she do?

A flash of inspiration struck Lucy.

Her father wasn't in the study room right now.

Sure there were plenty of guards hanging around the mansion right now but, maybe… she could take this risk and...

"… [Sneak]."

* * *

Lucy didn't really know what she'd expected would happen once she'd found the key to the display case that was trapping all her friends. She'd imagined that it'd be a pretty big moment with imaginary fireworks exploding behind her as she whooped and yelled in joy. Or maybe she'd be so happy that she'd start crying, tears of joy sliding down her cheeks as she clutched the key desperately to her chest.

Well, none of that actually happened.

All Lucy did as she stared down at the small innocent looking key that had been hidden between the pages of an old family photo album she didn't even know her father had possessed was utter a soft "oh".

She waved off the voice in her head that wondered why exactly her father hid it here of all places, gingerly closing her fingers around the key.

In all honesty she hadn't actually expected to find it so quickly and randomly. It was almost… anticlimactic, really.

Well, nevermind that. She done it, finally. She could finally leave. In fact, she could probably do it right now. She probably should do it right now. Her possessions that she was going to bring with her on this new adventure were already packed in a small bag in anticipation of finding the key a month ago (until Mr Handsome Gentleman got in the way). She should leave soon, just in case her father notices the little something missing in his study room.

Ba-bum.

 _Now_ her heart was finally starting to quicken in excitement and no small amount of fear as she realised she was finally free, she could leave right now, at this moment, as soon as she unlocked the display case and reunited with the friends she hadn't seen for years.

She wondered if Aquarius was going to be angry with her for not being summoned for so long? Or maybe she would be happy she had so much time alone with her boyfriend?

She wondered if Cancer's hairdressing skills remained just as sharp as before, considering his primary customer had been unavailable for so long?

She hoped grandpa Crux was doing well. And maybe when she summoned Lyra she could show her all the new songs she must have accumulated over the years.

As Lucy pondered on all this she didn't realise but her feet had taken her to the room where all her friends had been locked up. Adrenaline coursed through her as she inserted the key and, with a click, the display case unlocked.

Gently, she grasped the collection of silver and golden keys, picking them up one by one and staring at them with awe.

They were here, they were actually here. They were safe, she could feel them.

For the first time in years Lucy broke into a warm, glowing smile, one so wide her cheeks felt sore from the stretching. But she didn't mind.

 _Mama, are you watching me from up there? Because this is the start of my new life as Lucy, just Lucy. I'm not 'Lucky' Lucy of the Heartfilia family anymore. I'm finally free!_

* * *

"Fucking wolves!" Gajeel growled as he transformed his leg into an iron rod, kicking the gigantic wolf straight in the stomach. Why the fuck were there so many of them?

A nearby shifting sound alerted him to the bear lunging from behind him. Ducking underneath the swipe, he extended his iron arm, punching the bear right in the face.

Why was he even doing this?

 _Gajeel Redfox, more commonly known by his epithet "The Black Steel Gajeel", was not a patient or sympathetic person. And this blubbering major in front of him was really testing the little bit of patience he had._

" _You have to save us, good sir! We don't know where those gigantic wolves and bears came from, but they started appearing on random days, always appearing at night! My wife, she almost got attacked by one, and so many of the townspeople have been injured going through that forest! We fear that they'll start coming out of the forest soon and that would cause absolute chaos!"_

 _Yes, this was one annoying man. Gajeel really couldn't care less about these mysterious beasts appearing at random times, he'd only come here because he heard there was some damn information about that stupid bastard dragon. He'd grabbed the first mission he saw on the board that was near the area._

 _And no, he wasn't looking for the no good metal freak because he missed him or some prissy bullshit like that. He wasn't like those little Fairies who shit rainbows out of their asses and frolicked in the fields of friendship with unicorns. When he saw that scaly sunnovabitch he was going to spit on him, to show just how much of a nothing he meant to Gajeel. Then he was going to beat him to a bloody pulp, to show just how much of a mistake he had made when he decided to teach Gajeel Redfox how to slay dragons._

 _And maybe, if he were a little more honest with himself, he'd ask Metallicana just why he left him that day, without a word._

" _... And so I beg of you to investigate the forest and see where exactly these beasts are originating from!"_

 _Gajeel let out a little 'tsk' before getting up, staring intimidatingly at the major._

" _Whatever." He couldn't be bothered with this idiotic piece of shit._

 _So people were being attacked by these wolves or whatever. So what? Shit happens. That's why you had to toughen up and get strong enough to overcome it all. He hated weaklings like these, always pleading for others to help them when they couldn't solve their own problems._

 _Fucking weaklings._

 _Ignoring the major (who was_ still _talking) he made his way out of the cosy house. It was almost night time right now, so he may as well head to the forest to check it out. The sooner he got this over and left this stupid place, the better._

That's right. For the first few hours of the night the forest had been happily wolf and bear-free. Gajeel had just been about to call it a day before the atmosphere in the forest had suddenly _shifted._ Whereas it had felt boringly peaceful before, in those few moments it had shifted into a more sinister and deadly silence. He had no idea what caused this change but he sure was glad. It made everything so much more interesting.

Well, that was, until he realised just how many of these things there were. It wasn't like he was in danger or anything but the wolves just kept getting in the way and it was getting so _monotonous_. They just never ended and he'd had enough, dammit.

"Cancer!"

"On it, ebi."

Gajeel barely had time to turn around before he saw a _giant crab man_ slice a wolf down.

What in the _actual fuck_.

"Great job, Cancer!" There was a blonde girly dressed in some sort of fancy silk dress running towards them.

She hi fived the crab man (seriously what the fuck is up with that? Was that crab legs sticking out from his back holy shit this was some fucked up cosplay) before turning around to face him. Her stance shifted into a more defensive one as her sharp eyes pierced through him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Gajeel growled out.

* * *

 _ **Omake**_

Gray sighed exasperatedly as he looked down to discover that he'd once again managed to somehow lose half his clothes while he wasn't paying attention.

"Loke owes me a lot for this, dammit." He muttered under his breath as he backtracked a few meters to grab his shirt that lay abandoned in the middle of the floor.

It didn't matter that Loke had nothing to do with his stripping habit - it was still his fault he was even here in the first place.

He grumbled a little more as he put his shirt back on (sometimes he wondered why he even bothered when he was going to just lose it again- oh yeah, Erza), shifting around impatiently.

The clicking of the door opening followed by footsteps alerted Gray to the emergence of his wayward friend. He grinned amusedly as the guards stiffly escorted Loke towards him.

The two friends shared a smile (Gray's exasperated and Loke's sheepish) before they both left the place. A comfortable silence settled between them as they slowly made their way out of the Magic Council and back to the guild.

They continued walking silently for a few minutes, one focusing on his clothes so they wouldn't go running off without his permission while the other breathing in the refreshing air and enjoying their newfound freedom in general.

Finally, Loke sighed. Gray cocked an eyebrow, glancing at his friend.

"So… you didn't tell me you were visiting the prison cell." He smirked, teasing lightly.

Loke scowled, glaring at the ice make mage.

"Don't say anything. I don't even want to think about it." He grumbled, kicking a stray pebble that was unfortunate enough to be in his range.

Gray lifted both his hands in mock surrender.

"Okay, okay." He laughed, agreeing easily.

They descended back into a silence. Loke continued kicking pebbles as he walked, glaring down at his black leather shoes.

"There was a girl." Loke started.

Gray interrupted before he continued, "I thought you said you didn't want to talk about it."

Loke shot the smirking mage a withering glare, choosing to ignore his comment.

"I never want to see her ever again."

Gray glanced at his friend, slightly shocked. Well that was new. Apart from celestial mages and Erza, Loke practically flocked towards anything on two legs with a pair of boobs.

"She was the devil." His friend announced vehemently.

Gray was now pretty interested in a girl that could incite this kind of reaction from Loke, but the probability of them ever meeting was probably extremely low. He shared his thoughts with his fellow mage.

Loke grimaced at the thought of meeting that piece of work again, before grinning at his friend.

"Yeah, thank god I'll never have to see her ever again."

Gray grinned back, glad the orange haired mage was finally out of the funk he was in before.

"Heh, you never know. Maybe she'll somehow end up joining Fairy Tail." He joked lightly, laughing at the horrified look his companion shot him.

"Don't even joke about that, idiot!"

* * *

 **So yes, Lucy and Loke met. And didn't like each other. Hey, at least it makes things more interesting right? And then there's Gajeel.**

 **I don't know when I'll have finished the next chapter, but hopefully within the next two weeks.** **Editing by myself without a beta is pretty damn tough sometimes haha.**

 **Until then!**

 **Lonely Box**


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